The Federal Transit Administration this week reasserted that further delays and cost escalation in the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project could risk its funding status — but at the same time said Virginia has more than a year to submit a firm plan.
For a project so ensconced in uncertainty and confusion, the FTA statements did not resolve disagreements on whether a major change — the Tysons tunnel — could be introduced in the project at this late stage.
The 23-mile, $4 billion rail extension will run to Loudoun County. Though the state plans to build an aerial rail, many hope the track can run through a tunnel under Tysons Corner. The decision in favor of aerial tracks was based largely on FTA warnings that stated delays and cost increases triggered by switching to a tunnel could put $900 million in federal funding at risk.
At a press conference Monday, federal transit officials told reporters Virginia still has about 14 months to submit final plans to the FTA. Meeting that time frame would keep the project within the year-long funding cycle beginning in fall 2008. State officials intend to submit the plan far sooner.
But the FTA still warned that further delays increase the risk the rail extension would become ineligible for the federal funds. If the project languishes too long, it risks losing its exemption from the FTA’s new, more stringent cost-benefit standards.
“The FTA timeline is not new, and still makes it painfully clear that we cannot fundamentally switch horses at this point in this process,” Gov. Tim Kaine spokesman Kevin Hall said.
Tysons tunnel supporters now say the state has time to reconsider building the near-universally favored underground track.
“We’ve got time, but we got to move fast,” Tysonstunnel.org President Scott Monett said .
FTA spokesman Wes Irvin said the decision lies in the state’s hands.
“As with any project, significant delays at this point in the game — this late in the process — would have a direct impact on time and money,” Irvin said.
